Shenmue II Hands-On

Share.

By Hilary Goldstein

Shenmue II is a sequel. That should be somewhat obvious, given that there's a II next to the name. Even though you may never have played or even heard of the original Dreamcast Shenmue, you can still enjoy the pleasures of the sequel.

Shenmue is an epic RPG that takes a young man (Ryo Hazuki) through journeys in both Hong Kong and Japan. Intended to span several games, Shenmue II is merely the second part of the massive adventure. The first Shenmue was there to help get gamers accustomed to the game, ease them into the story, and is really just a precursor to the true tale. Shenmue II is where the fit really hits the shan.

Shenmue II comes with several options right from the get-go. The opening menu allows you several options:

New game: Start a new adventure with Ryo

Continue: Load up a saved game. You have ten slots for saves, so save often.

Shenmue Collection: Play mini-games you unlock during Shenmue II, including: Yu Suzuki's shooter Space Harrier, a game of darts, and various battle modes. There are over 20 games to unlock.

Digest Movie: Watch clips from the original Shenmue to catch you up on the story.

Shots-Viewer: At just about any point during Shenmue II, you can take a snapshot by pressing the black button. Those snapshots are stored on the hard drive and can be viewed here.

A brief update... In case you missed the original, Shenmue tells the story of Ryo Hazuki, a young man seeking revenge for his father's death. The man responsible, Lan Di, has gone to Hong Kong in search of ultimate power. Combining mystery and mysticism, Shenmue is a realistic fantasy, a story set is a pseudo-realistic world where the consequences of a few people's actions could be very, very grave.

At the end of the first Shenmue, Ryo had left his native homeland of Japan and set sail for Hong Kong. Shenmue II begins with Ryo's first steps onto Hong Kong soil. This new adventure deepens the intrigue and danger hinted at in the original and will offer a lot more action for gamers. Coming to Xbox in November, Shenmue II will hopefully spark new interest in the series so that future chapters can make it onto the old 'box.

Who is this mysterious girl?

Newly polishedShenmue II was originally released for Dreamcast in Japan and Europe. This is a port, but Microsoft is making certain to refine the graphics so the game seems comparable to other Xbox titles. At first glance, you might think the game looks like its DC counterpart, but when you compare the two side-by-side it's pretty clear the Xbox version is a much more attractive game.

Dreamcast

Xbox

Dreamcast

Xbox

But even spiffy graphics can't fully save the game from some of the missteps taken in the previous Dreamcast incarnation. There are some characters who are poorly modeled, and that has not yet changed. There is also some spots of slowdown, just as in the Dreamcast version. However, while the current build is near complete, the graphics are still being tweaked. In fact, the graphics are basically all that remain, meaning Shenmue II should certainly make it's early November release. With all that time to spend on graphics, we can expect cleaner visuals and an elimination of most (if not all) slowdown.

What's always been great about Shenmue are the characters. They are very distinct. There are so many NPCs in the game and while the voices aren't always unique, the faces seem to have their own personal qualities. You can see the age on an elderly face and one old coot doesn't look like another. This adds a lot of personality to the game and helps make you feel like you are in a living environment. And a living environment has always been something Shenmue has touted.

The faces have a lot of great details.

What'd you say? The DC version of Shenmue II had English subtitles and a Japanese dub. Microsoft has elected to go for an English dub with subtitles and no option for the original Japanese language. This could be a mistake, because the English dub manages to be pretty awful. Of course, it's the story that counts, but after the first few hours of playing Shenmue II, it's becoming clear that the voice acting isn't going to get better.

There's plenty of strange (apparently) unintentional double-entendres, which will give you plenty to chuckle about. The story itself is compelling, especially if you played the first Shenmue or watched the Shenmue Movie. But the dialogue is a bit lacking. This probably won't get any better before the game ships, which is a real shame. This seems the only real drawback to the game so far.

The old master will teach you a lot.

The play is the thing...Shenmue II plays identical to its Dreamcast counterpart. You move Ryo with the D-Pad and can look up, down, left, and right with the thumbstick. The face buttons are context-sensitive, but you never need worry about memorizing what each button does. A map of the buttons is always on screen, showing you your current options. When you get near a door, for example, the X button shows the picture of a door, meaning pressing the button will open the door. The A button is used for talking and when you get close to someone you can talk to, a mouth icon will appear over the button.

The white button changes the camera filter, so you can play the entire game in a nostalgic brown and white (it looks like a worn out old photo). The filter is really there to offer different effects when taking snapshots. You'll see a small camera icon in the top right corner whenever you can take a snapshot (it's almost always there). Click the black button and your photo will be taken and stored on the hard drive. This can be viewed in game in the commands menu or in the main menu under the Shots-Viewer option.

Speaking of the commands menu, this baby gives you a ton of options. Pressing the Y button pauses the game and opens up a full-screen menu filled with options. You can look at any of the things in your inventory (and you will end up with quite a haul by the end of the game), check out your moves list, save the game, view snapshots, check out maps, and more. It seems daunting at first, but after a few minutes of poking around, the commands menu becomes quite easy to navigate.

The majority of the game is RPG elements, where you walk around talking to people trying to find clues to get you from point A to point B. Shenmue II is a bit more directed than the original, so you won't find yourself spending two hours opening a hundred drawers for no reason. There isn't too much mystery in the game, it's mostly a story progression, which is fine since the story is pretty solid.

To mix things up, Shenmue II offers QTEs and fights. QTEs, or quick time events, are scripted occurances that require you to press specific keys at the right moment. Think of it as a fast-paced Dragon's Lair. QTEs can be cinematic fights or chase scenes or other random events. They don't happen too often, but they are great to experience. Even when you mess up, it's cool to watch the outcome.

Oh yeah, baby, I need something...

Fights are more in your direct control. You have a slew of moves to use and you will learn new moves as the game progresses. The more you practice moves, the better skilled you will become in particular moves. And when we say you have a lot of moves, we mean it. There are over fifty fighting moves to master. And fights are fast and filled with baddies. Rarely is a fight one on one.

Shenmue II gives you a QTE and a fight scene rather quickly, then slows down the pace for a bit. This game is absolutely meant for folks who love RPGs for their stories and not just for leveling up by beating on random baddies.

Creator Yu Suzuki's goal has always been to create a living world with a realistic hero. Ryo must earn money by doing odd jobs, or gambling, or arm wrestling, or even getting in street fights. You can purchase soda, by toys, and talk to almost anyone on the street. If that interests you in the slightest, then Shenmue II merits your attention this fall.

Expect much more on Shenmue II in the coming months. We'll continue to examine the game, let you know how it's progressing, give you insight into the QTE and fighting systems, and much more.